crown of thornz

(8/10) Eventhough you might not have heard about Crown Of Thornz before doesn't mean that they are newcomers. The band was a main part of the NYHC scene in the mid eighties when bands Madball and Disorder had their first peak.

The sound of Crown Of Thornz is inspired by legendary hardcore bands such as Agnostic Front and Cro-Mags. So we are talking about intensive hardcore that also brings a lot of grooving parts. The band of mainman Lord Ezec was better know for a cool live act and they found their passion more on stage than on records. "Train yard blues", an EP, and "Mentally vexed" from 1996 have been the only releases so far.

Almost twenty years later there is new recorded stuff available from Crown Of Thornz. Two tracks have been taped and ended up on a 7".

The first track "The kiss of death" is a heavy grooving song with a brutal guitar riff and raging vocals by Lord Ezec. After such a hardcore fireworks the beginning of "No reason why?" is a surprise (by the way, we're not talking about a Gorilla Bisquits cover). The track starts with an acoustic guitar. The song has a more epic character and spreads a dark vibe that gives you a discomfortable feeling. The tunes is totally different compared with the opener and for me it's this contrast that makes the two tracks pretty interesting.

If you like hardcore you should listen to this 7". And maybe we can expect another longplayer in the near future. Who knows.

(8/10)

Tracklist:

1. The kiss of death
2. No reason why?

Label: Bridge 9

Genre: Hardcore

Release date EU: August 14, 2015